Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed used the final debate before next week’s primary to defend controversial comments comparing Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to an “ogre,” while Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) brushed aside criticism over millions of dollars in outside spending backing her campaign.
During the debate, el Sayed was asked whether he regretted inflammatory rhetoric after recently saying during a donor Zoom call that if he won the primary, he would have “no problem” backing primary challenges against lawmakers such as Fetterman.
Recommended Stories
“Ideally, you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message,” el Sayed said during the call, according to audio obtained by Politico.
Asked whether the race would benefit from a more civil tone, el Sayed said the remark was directed solely at Fetterman, whom he accused of abandoning the values on which he was elected.
“I was referring to a guy named John Fetterman, who’s a senator from Pennsylvania who has done terrible things, got elected on a set of values, and is now completely throwing those values in the mud,” el Sayed said. “I think it’s important for all of us to have an honest opinion about what we’re going to do to make sure that our Senate looks like the people it represents.”
El Sayed also sought to portray himself as the candidate calling for civility, noting he had publicly urged supporters not to attack Stevens personally after she was booed at the Michigan Democratic Party convention. He then accused outside groups supporting Stevens of flooding the airwaves with personal attacks, pointing to millions of dollars spent by the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Stevens responded by pivoting away from the rhetoric controversy and arguing that el Sayed’s own comments on the donor call showed he was more interested in ideological battles than legislating.
“Michigan needs a workhorse,” Stevens said. “I’m offering these ideas respectfully.”
Stevens was later pressed on the role of AIPAC-aligned outside spending in the race, which has become one of the campaign’s defining issues, but said it is “absolutely not” cause for concern, noting she is “deeply proud to represent one of the largest Jewish populations in a congressional district in the country.”
“People have every right to be frustrated about our campaign finance system,” Stevens said, claiming that el Sayed has “a super PAC that his father-in-law funds that has millions of dollars going into it.” While acknowledging differences with el Sayed on Israel policy, she defended her support for a two-state solution and said both el Sayed and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had criticized her positions.
“Michiganders want peace,” she said. “They deserve to see peace. And that is where I have always cast my vote.”
El Sayed countered that the race has been shaped by unprecedented outside spending.
BERNIE SANDERS BARNSTORMS MICHIGAN WITH KINGMAKER CREDIBILITY AT STAKE
“The difference between us is $46 million of PAC spending,” he said, arguing the money reflects outside interests seeking to influence the election.
Stevens and el Sayed enter the final week before the Aug. 4 Democratic primary locked in one of the party’s most closely watched Senate contests. Stevens has consolidated support from much of the Democratic establishment, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), among others. El Sayed has been endorsed by progressive figures, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA).
